Bicyclist hurt in accident in Worcester

WORCESTER — A 35-year-old Worcester man was hospitalized with serious injuries Wednesday after the bicycle he was riding collided with a sport utility vehicle on Newbury Street and he was pinned underneath the SUV.

The bicyclist was taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester with chest and back injuries. Police did not identify the bicyclist or the driver of the SUV, a 79-year-old woman who was not injured.

According to preliminary investigation, the woman, driving west on Chandler Street in a 2012 Toyota RAV4 about 11 a.m., was turning right onto Newbury Street. At the same time, the man on the bicycle was traveling in the same direction and also turning right onto Newbury Street. The bicyclist was to the right of the vehicle, police said. (Although a police news release posted online at 5:18 p.m. Wednesday said both driver and cyclist were turning left, a police official later confirmed that both were turning right.)

As the vehicle turned it struck the front tire of the bicycle, which caused the man to fall over the hood of the Toyota and onto the ground. The Toyota ran over the man before it stopped, police said.

Firefighters and Worcester emergency medical crews rushed to the scene.

The man was trapped under the rear of the SUV, with his head close to a rear tire. Workers from the nearby Worcester Auto Center, 115 Chandler St., provided jacks that police, firefighters and paramedics used to lift the vehicle and free the injured bicyclist.

Police said his injuries were serious. He was listed in stable condition Wednesday, police said. No citations had been issued Wednesday.

The Toyota was towed to police headquarters for a mechanical inspection.